Like all terrestial analogues when applied to Glorantha, there is a lot that is not right, but they can be a useful starting point and source of inspiration.
I've become cautious of the plethora of hero bands we had within HQ1. I'm beginning to feel that a hero band is a proper community founded outside of culturally non-traditional (usually kinship) structures. So whilst once I saw 'societies' within the Red Cow such as the Auroch Bringers or the Wolkfskinners as hero bands, now I don't the are. Now I think they are 'just what it says on the tin': societies within the larger operative community of the clan.
Hero bands become important to 'adventurers' because they often leave the kinship based community in search of some goal. They need the protection and support of a new community, because they are straying beyond the old one. At that point the priests find a guardian for this new community so that the community will have magical protection. Given time this 'hero band' may become a more traditional community.
The key for me is that a 'hero band' is an independent community. In many cases it will be difficult to honor obligations to both this community and prior ones. I suspect many Orlanthi who join a heroband for example would be considered to have 'left' the clan. Where we do see multiple communities that you can be part of simultaneously: clan, tribe, nation then we see a web of agreements and obligations. I think that a heroband would need this kind of web for members to enjoy dual membership.
I think that these hero bands may often evolve (devolve?) into more traditional communities. Colymar may well have led the Black Spear heroband north into Dragon Pass, from which emerged the Colymar clans. Derik may have founded the Black Net heroband which later became the Pol Joni clans.
I would suggest that many praxian societies are just spirit societies within a practice or 'warrior' societies within the clan. Only where they evolve into communities that transcend traditional tribal structures and form an independent community would they be best represented as a 'hero band'
Powered by hypermail